UEFA has dismissed appeals by two players from Hungarian champion Debrecen against their suspensions in connection with attempts to fix a Champions League match.
UEFA said Thursday that goalkeeper Vukasin Poleksic remains banned through June 2012 and defender Norbert Meszaros through December 2011 ''for breaching principles of integrity, loyalty and sportsmanship'' by not reporting offers from fixers.
''The decision of the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body of June 24 is upheld,'' Europe's football authority said in a statement to The Associated Press.
Poleksic, a Montenegro international, and Meszaros can appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
The case is the first that UEFA has prosecuted in connection with attempts to fix a group-stage game in the Champions League, world football's most popular and lucrative club competition.
Poleksic and Meszaros were found guilty of failing to say that fixers approached them before Debrecen's home match against Fiorentina last Oct. 20.
The Italian side scored four first-half goals and won 4-3. Neither player was accused of actively manipulating the match.
According to Hungarian state news wire MTI, Poleksic stated in his appeal that he rejected the bribe attempt and that it was proven that no match-fixing had taken place.
For his part, Meszaros sought to prove at Wednesday's appeal hearing that he had no contact with people attempting to influence the match's outcome.
In a statement posted by Debrecen on its website Thursday, the club said it was not affected by the case and the players would decide whether to appeal to CAS in Lausanne, Switzerland.
Debrecen said three of its players - Tibor Dombi, Zoltan Kiss and Djorje Pantic - testified in their teammates' hearing.
''After this, (UEFA) made its regrettable decision based on the testimony of a single witness,'' Debrecen said.
In May, Debrecen said eight players were initially interviewed by UEFA investigators who visited Hungary asking about an alleged fix.
The 27-year-old Poleksic was then suspended by UEFA for two years and fined ?10,000 ($12,700). He has helped Debrecen win the Hungarian championship in both his seasons with the club.
Meszaros, who is 30, was banned for 18 months and fined ?7,000 ($8,900).
Their bans will likely be extended globally by FIFA.
Debrecen reached the group stage of the Champions League for the first time last season and earned more than ?10 million ($12.7 million) in prize money from UEFA. It lost all six matches it played against Fiorentina, Liverpool and Lyon.
In this season's competition, Debrecen was eliminated by Swiss champion FC Basel in the third qualifying round. It has since reached the group stage of the Europa League and begins play next week.
Last year, UEFA found Macedonian club Pobeda guilty of fixing a Champions League qualifying match in 2004. It excluded the club from European competitions for eight years and banned the former club president for life from involvement in football.
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Associated Press Writer Pablo Gorondi in Budapest, Hungary, contributed to this report.
